complaints about that but even more buyers. this is a de they will definitely offer again. it is working. getting folks in the store. shotgun wedding maybe. bill: that's good. i like that. so off go, huh? mart beginning a another week. bill: are you feeling great? martha: i'm feeling great. see you tomorrow. "happening now" straight ahead. patti ann: right now brand new stories and breaking news. jon: governor romney kicking off his mower aggressive campaign. this week he hits the road with his running mate in a bus tour through the buckeye state. the all-important bellwether of ohio. could the big push deliver a whole lot of electoral votes. chris wallace and robert gibbs go toe-to-toe over the white house's changing story over the deadly attack in libya. will the flip-flop have an effect on the president's campaign? cross-country on a bike. some of america's heroes making a ride for the

children of veterans who fought for our freedoms. those stories plus breaking news awl "happening now." jon: brand new developments in the race for the white house. good morning to you, i'm john scott. good morning patti ann. patti ann: good morning great to be here. i'm patti ann browne in for jenna lee. early voting is underway in battleground states including michigan and new hampshire. governor romney sets his sights on two swing states. right now the republican presidentialnal nominee gearing up for a campaign event in pueblo, colorado, before he joins husband running mate in ohio. colorado has nine electoral votes up for grabs. the state has voted for the winner in the last seven out of eight presidential elections. ohio has even more at stake. double the number about electoral votes, 18 and a

better track record picking the winner, getting it right in the last 12 presidential elections. john roberts is live in pueblo, colorado. john, hi, the presidential debate more than a week away but we know what is on mitt romney's mind. >> reporter: absolutely. what is on mitt romney's mind and all this week women be the economy and jobs, jobs, jobs. here in pueblo, colorado, the unemployment rate stands for 11%. watch for governor romney today and rest of the week to drill down further on the jobs plan. not necessarily new information but hirer level of detail for the plan he already has and leading up to all the important first presidential debate in colorado a week from now. watch for a greater effort by the romney campaign to battle back what they say are misperceptions of the gove created by the obama campaign. >> i think the president will not be able to continue to mischaracterize my pathway. so i will be able to mine and he will describe his and people will make a choice.

that is it great thing about democracy. i will not fool people to think things. that ends during the debates. >> reporter: the governor says the romney campaign pointing to the acknowledgement that the president made last night not in that "60 minutes" interview that was broadcast but in the webcast that followed saying he thinks some of the attacks his campaign leveled at governor romney have actually gone overboard, patti ann. patti ann: yeah, john. the romney campaign hammering the president on that "60 minutes" interview. tell us more about that. >> reporter: hammering him on a number of fronts. the current idea that the middle east unrest and murder of chris stevens are bumps in the road as president obama said last night, characterizing as quote noise, israel's concerns about iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapon. then there was this about the president's biggest disappointment. >> if you ask me what's my biggest disappointment is

that we haven't changed the tone in washington as much as i would have liked. >> you don't bear any responsibility for that? >> i think as president i bear responsibility for everything, to some degree. >> reporter: now the romney campaign pounced all over that saying the president's biggest disappointment should be the bad economy and lack of job creation here in the united states. there has been lots of talk to, patti ann, in the past 24 hours about president obama beginning to open up a lead nationally and in a lot of battleground states on governor romney and that republicans are very worried what may happen in the next few weeks. watch for the romney campaign to really begin to step it up this week. patti ann. patti ann: we have a lot more on the latest polls and the campaign. john roberts live in colorado, thank you. jon: new controversy surrounding the so-called redistribution speech, the one then state senator barack obama gave back in 1998. "the daily caller" has obtained the full audio recording and in it mr. obama not only said he favored spreading the wealth

he weighed in on the bipartisan welfare reform newt gingrich and president clinton hammered out saying quote, i did not entirely agree with and probably would have voted against at the federal level but one good thing that comes out of it, it essentially deseg a gates the welfare population. now you just have one batch of folks that is increasingly a majority population. joining us now erin mcpike, national political reporter for "real clear politics". and this tape, for one thing has the president saying he was not in favor of that welfare reform that came under the clinton administration. these days he is saying he is for that. will that make any difference in the campaign? >> the romney campaign thought so on friday and were pushing heavily then. what we see the romney campaign largely dropped the attack. i talked to a romney advisor a few minutes ago what they're really doing going after president obama what they say is gaffe after gaffe in that "60 minutes" interview. jon: the fresher stuff plays

better in the political world? >> it does. we're seeing a far more aggressive romney campaign jumping on every little thing president obama says. last night in that interview what they're saying is that president obama called bumps in the road, this crisis in the middle east and they say that can't be, four americans were killed. jon: also struck me as interesting when we called israel one of our best allies in that part of the world. okay. who else might be in front of israel? >> that's right. and mitt romney has consistently said that israel is our closest ally. they think that is good line of attack against the president. jon: paul ryan is off to ohio to do some campaigning and there's work to be done there for the romney-ryan campaign. >> a new poll just this weekend, the ohio newspaper poll by the university of cincinnati puts president obama at 51% in the state to 46% for mitt romney. and also mitt romney has been trailing president obama by about four points in ohio in the real clear politics average for a while

now. they need to get out there get more aggressive on the ground. paul ryan is there today. he and mitt romney are there tomorrow. mitt romney has three stops on wednesday. president obama as two stops on ohio. we're calling it the buckeye brawl. jon: did the president all of sudden to go to ohio in the middle of this romney-ryan blitz? >> they sure did. late last week after the romney campaign bus tour was announced. jon: that suggests what? that the president is trying to protect his lead? >> that is absolutely a big part of it. we're seeing from president obama's campaign a push into the mobilization phase of the race. they're talking about how early voting starts in six days. last day to register to vote in ohio is in nine days. the romney campaign is still in persuasion phase trying to tell voters about his economic plan. jon: it goes to show the power of incumbency. the president talked about i think on the "60 minutes" interview one out of every eight jobs in ohio related to the auto industry which he saved, right?

that's his claim. the plan that he put forward with gm was not all that different from what mitt romney wanted to do. >> to some extent, yes. president obama is getting some credit in very population dense parts of northern ohio where the auto industry is heaviest. so he is getting some credit for that. jon: all right. erin mcpike, from "real clear politics". got a lot of work to do. it will be interesting what six weeks to go until the election? >> sure is. this week will be interesting on its own. jon: thank you. patti ann. patti ann: jon, libya's government is issuing a command saying come under the government groups or disband band. this as we get word from libya's ambassador just a short time ago that ambassador stevens died at a libyan hospital. greg palkot is streaming live from tripoli. hi, greg. >> reporter: hey, patti ann. we're less than a day away regarding that deadline by the libyan government for those rogue militias to

disperse and disband. one official told me it is going better than he expected. one of those groups pushed out of a base here in tripoli not too far from where we are right now. that happened on sunday. today they're being replaced by soldiers and military police. that is happening all over the country. it all started earlier this weekend. eastern city of benghazi was the scene. people there rose up following that attack and the killing of the u.s. consulate in benghazi and a lot of other trouble associated with these groups but nothing is easy here in libya. late word from benghazi one of those targeted militias says they're not going to give up and they're doing their own arresting. meanwhile some new reporting about the killing of ambassador stevens and three other americans in benghazi nearly two weeks ago. "new york times" saying something like a dozen cia -- were based at the consulate there doing important work, tracking militant extremist groups in the region. they also say that at least

some fbi agents are on the ground in benghazi. we've got a couple of sources saying otherwise but all agree that the insecurity situation in this country is making detective work on this crime very difficult indeed. finally, patti ann, back to that new word about the last hours of ambassador stevens. the libyan government is now saying he was alive when libyan civilians found him inside that smokey consulate building. then they brought him out, brought him to a hospital where he then died. a doctor at the hospital said he tried very hard to save him and just couldn't. back to you. patti ann: greg palkot live in trend polely. thank you. jon: well with the white house is taking heat for repeated statements that the attack on our consulate in libya grew out of a spontaneous protest. chris wallace put it very bluntly to one of the president's top campaign advisors. >> ambassador rice give the american people bad information?

jon: so things got very interesting from there. we'll show you how it all played out after that. patti ann: and dangerous wildfires burning out of control in several western states. homes threatened and emergency evacuations underway. we'll bring you the latest. jon: also a controversial plan in one school district. kids as young as 14 allowed access to birth control, even the morning-after pill, without their parents permission

jon: fox news alert and we are watching several wildfires in the western part of the nation. in san diego county emergency evacuations are underway after a fast-moving fire destroyed several homes. it is threatening dozens more. a number of schools have canceled classes today. the fire began yesterday fueled by hot weather and

very high winds. in riverside county, california, a wildfire is threatening some 200 homes in murrieta. it started near the warm springs park and preserve. it quickly spread. more than 150 firefighters are battling that one getting help from airplanes dropping water and fire retardant to try to douse the flames. in washington crews are making progress with several major wildfires burning across that state. lightning sparked the fires that burned thousands of acres. hundreds 6 of firefighters are working for weeks to keep flames from populated areas. they are working and making some progress in fires from reaching homes in some communities. we'll look at the challenges pose and challengings of getting them under control. william la jeunesse will have a live report. patti ann: new york city schools expanding a controversial program making

the so-called morning-after pill available to high school girls without parental consent. julie banderas live in the new york city newsroom live with the story. >> reporter: hi, patti ann. this is not the first time the new york city health department made sex education in the city their business. first it was condoms. now the morning-after pill is available to teenage girls here in new york city since apparently preventative contraceptives have not been enough to prevent girls from getting pregnant. the program that has been place stands for connecting adolescents to comprehensive health care. it is available to 13 schools in new york city with all high school girls. it has reportedly been meant with little resistance. only one to 2% of parents opted out of the program which uses doctors, health care departments and school nurses to prescribe contraceptives. moms and dads were asked to fill out a form which asks them to pig any or all of types of reproductive

services they didn't want their children to receive. includes emergency contraception, plan b, the morning after bill, birth control pills or condoms. according to new york stock exchange health department is it is aimed at a improving quote a situation that will have live long consequences. here in new york city alone over 7,000 young women became pregnant by age 17 last year. 90% were unplanned. in the 2011, 2012 school year, students received 567 emergency contraception, known as plan b and 580 received the birth control pill. health officials say they have yet to determine whether the program has successfully reduced pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections as a parent i'm not sure i would necessarily want anyone telling me how to run my household. seems new york city parents don't have that big of a problem with this. patti ann. patti ann: very surprising the controversy is not wider. julie banderas, thank you. >> reporter: sure.

jon: he was a familiar face in the early part of the president's term, white house press secretary and robert gibbs is still defending the president especially when it comes to the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate in libya. what gibbs has to say about the white house's initial response and the claim that it was not a prepranned terror attack. we're live with more on that controversy. iran's president, certainly no stranger to fiery rhetoric but as he gets ready to address the united nations the chief the world body is out with warnings to him. we'll go in depth next. this country was built by working people.

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jon: right now a top advisor to president obama is defending the administration for saying in the initial days after our the assault on our consulate in libya that it was not a preplanned terrorist attack.

kelly wright is live in washington with more on this. kelly. >> reporter: jon, good morning to you. the white house is trying to set the record straight what it believes happened in benghazi. you may recall however the confusion that came as a result of the first initial reports in the wake of that attack. u.n. ambassador susan rice for example, telling fox news it was a spontaneous attack that was not preplanned but got out of control. that contradicted the president of libya's claim that it was a premeditated attack. later the white house said the attack was in fact a terror attack. obama's senior advisor robert gibbs explaining why the administration changed its account to our own chris wallace. >> absolutely no one intentionally or unintentionally misled anybody involved in this. absolutely not. again, that is an answer that the press secretary gave on september the 14th. it is now september the 23rd. we learn more information every single day about what happened. nobody wants to get to the bottom of this more than we do.

>> reporter: still questions persist what the obama administration did or did not know before, during or even after the terror attack. republican senator john barrasso of wyoming who sits on the foreign relations committee says the administration's confusing response either a cover-up or incompetence in gathering the facts. >> this was a 9/11, this was a coordinated. i believe it was premeditated planned. i don't know if it was weeks or months in advance but it was aimed a the united states on the anniversary of september 11th. >> reporter: republican congressman mike archer chairman of the house intelligence committee says americans deserve the truth and the facts. he adds the president needs to make it clear the united states will not tolerate a u.s. ambassador treated badly, let alone killed. jon? jon: kelly wright in washington for us. kelly, thank you. patti ann: for more on the white house response to the terror attack in libya i'm joined by democratic senator from dell wear -- delaware

chris coons a member of the senate foreign relation committee. >> good morn. patti ann: he said they were not misleading after the killing of ambassador stevens was an attack was spontaneous response to this video and not a preplanned terror attack on the 9/11 anniversary. do you agree the administration did not lead the public. >> i agree the administration did after the attack was appropriate to launch the thorough investigation on conditions of the ground and led to this tragic attack. what i think the regretable some folks tried to inject our own domestic partisan presidential campaign into what ought to be a thorough and thoughtful review of what is actually happened on 9/11 in benghazi. clearly it is tragic we lost an american ambassador and three of the folks who served the united states with him. i think frankly to parse too closely the quick responses that were given within the first few days after that

attack is to play politics with what was a really tragic situation. i'm confident that the fbi is now on the ground. that the intelligence community and fbi is doing what they should doing in conducting a thorough background investigation on exactly what happened in the confusing and chaotic moments leading up to the death of our ambassador. patti ann: stephen hayes, of "the weekly standard" went through point by point on ambassador's rice comments on a the face the nation. hateful video triggered a spontaneous protest outside our consulate that spun from there into something much more violent. cbs news reported last week, quote, there was never an anti-american protest outside the consulate. for starters where did she get the statement about a protest. >> i don't know. and i can't speak to what ambassador rice did or didn't say. frankly that is not an interview i watched or followed closely. what i can speak to is secretary of state clinton stayed in regular touch with the senate, briefed us

thoroughly. i'm confident what they did after the tragic incident is what they ought to be doing is launch a thorough row and broad reaching investigation and beef up security at other facility. >> meantime the administration is giving statements, starting from, like i said five days afterwards, you have ambassador rice making statements. she can say we don't know. instead she was making statements one being we do have information that leads us to conclude, i'm sorry we do not have information that leads us to conclude this was a premeditated or preplanned attack. meanwhile prior to that, senator carl levin a democrat as you know who had been briefed by defense secretary leon panetta asked by a reporter if the attack was preplanned, he said quote, the attack looked like it was preplanned and premeditated sure. the libya's president told npr the idea that this criminal and cowardly act was a spontaneous protest spun out of control was unfounded and preposterous. these comments coming before

ambassador rice before she made her statement. doesn't the administration have the obligation to put forth information they're getting behind the scenes, not anything that will compromise security but give an accurate accounting of what they know thus far? no well, absolutely, i think it is important for the american people to know ultimately what we're able to learn through both our intelligence sources and the fbi as they sift through conflicting evidence about what weapons were used, what tactics were used. whether there was some compromise to the security system at the compound. remember this was a consulate. not our main embassy. but in a very tumultuous and unsettled part of the world. i think there are going to be lessons to be learned about this. in my view as we begin the week of the u.n. general assembly the most important lesson we can't allow extremists in the region to push us out or hijack the agenda as we try to support those governments that are speaking to be our responsible allies. the response to this tragic incident from the libyan government has been what we would hope for. thorough police investigations, arresting

dozens of people, striking back at militias who probably were a at the core of this attack on the american consulate. i think we should be encouraged by the fact there is a broad reaching investigation underway and we've seen some more positive response this week from the libyan government and the libyan people who are greatful for the role we played in their liberation from the gadhafi regime. patti ann: regarding security, this is question ambassador rice assume would have information on, what was the security on the time of the attack and she said on one of these sunday programs, quote, we had a substantial presence with our personnel at the consulate in benghazi. two of the four americans who were killed were there providing security and indeed many of their colleagues were doing the same thing n fact stephen hayes says the ambassador in the country facing a growing al qaeda threat had virtually no security. the two contractors killed were not part of the ambassador's security details and there were not in fact many other colleagues working security with them. are the statements from the administration about how

secure that consulate was accurate? >> i don't know the actual facts about exactly how many folks were working at that particular consulate at that time. what i can tell you with some certain, i'm the chair of africa subcommittee on the senate foreign relations committee and i have traveled to a number about of countries a at my two years as senator and i'm struck how we rely on host country security forces. no american embassy or consulate can be secure if we don't have partnership from the police and military of the country that host our diplomatic missions. we rely on small squads of marines and small teams of security officers, many of them former military, to provide security for visiting senators as well as for ambassadors, for usaid workers and others who represent us in these difficult an volatile regions of the world. i think it is important for us to continue to invest in security. it is important for the administration to be clear wit with the american public exactly what they knew and

when they knew it. that's why i'm confident that the investigation that is currently underway will produce to the senate and the house and to the american people a thorough report that will help us learn from this tragic incident. what i hope we will not do is try and inject for partisan political advantage some suggestion that the president was irresponsible or failed to protect our ambassadors or was somehow an apologists for american policy. none of that is true. i think he has led strongly in the middle east. and i think our closeness with our allies, most principally israel reflects that strength of leadership. patti ann: got to go. senator coons thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you. jon: the super pacs are unleashing negative ads this campaign season. even president obama admits some of his ads may have gone overboard but have they been effective? we'll take a fair and balanced look. virginia and other areas near our nation's capitol now among the wealthiest in the entire nation. the role redistribution has played in that. we're live with that story. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare?

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to make sure that everybody's got a shot. patti ann: well a recent report from the "washington post" shows wealth is being redistributed in america and it is going to the federal government's backyard. doug mckelway is live right now from mcclain, virginia. hi, doug. >> reporter: hi, patti ann. we're standing by in this little cul-de-sac in mcclain, outside the beltway, washington, d.c. this neighborhood is dotted with mcmansions like one behind me which is going for $14.9 million. the washington region boasts of having seven of the nation's top 10 wealthiest counties. how did it get to be that way? washington has no great abundance of natural resources here. the primary river, potomac is not commercially navigable by any stretch of the imagination. there are no major factories in the region. what washington does have is federal government. this is tim carney writes for the "washington examiner" and written

extensively by this phenomena. >> you remember when ross perot talked about a free trade from mexico and giant sucking jobs going down to mexico. i think d.c. is vortex and giant sucking sound of american wealth and jobs coming. >> reporter: feeding at the trough of federal government is army of lawyers, lobbyists,cut ants and businesses who all gravitate here to be closer to the seat of government. among the fortune 500 companies that moved their headquarters to the washington suburbs in recent years, northrop grumman, hilton, volkswagen, saic. here is tim carney again. >> why are they doing that? because businesses are finding out that d.c., that the federal government controls their prosperity and their wealth much more than the rest of the economy does. >> reporter: congressman jerry connelly, represents fairfax county, probably greatest accumulation of wealth in any congressional

district categorically that the washington region is parasitic region feeding off taxing from people in the hinterlands. here is congressman connelly. >> the relationship between the government and its need to procure technical services and goods is uniquely met in northern virginia which has spurred a very vibrant information technology, high technology sector. that the government benefits from many harnessing the power of the private sector throughout sourcing as a source of direct employment and direct investment created the modern economy in northern virginia. >> reporter: one thing could change the wealth of this region pretty dramatically, that is the daunting i should say prospect of see question operation if it occurs. washington will see a dramatic decline in its wealth. it will affect all the tesh think aremember industry we see here. washington for first time will experience same level of recession that the rest

of america has seen. patti ann: doug mckelway, live in virginia for us, thank you. jon: inside america's election headquarters the white house race seems to be a pretty nasty one with the super pacs pouring millions and mols of dollars into negative campaign spots. even president obama admits some of the tv ads may have gone a little too far. take a listen to what he told "60 minutes". >> you know, do we see sometimes us going overboard in our campaign, mistake that are made or, areas where there is no doubt that somebody could dispute how we are presenting things, you know, that happens in politics. jon: joining us now for a fair and balanced debate, the republican national committee press secretary. and melanie russell the democratic national committee press secretary. welcome to beth of you. >> thank you. jon: so the president, melanie, says his campaign has gone a little overboard. do you agree?

>> well, jon, if you look at the full clip, what the president said is that in this vigorous debate he is going to, and in the ads that he has approved for the campaign he is going to point out the sharp differences between the candidates. like the fact that mitt romney think's it is fair for him as millionaire to pay a lower tax rate than a worker making $50,000. that contrasts with the president who believes that everyone should pay their fair share. those are the types of things we'll point out. that is going to show a very sharp contrast. and so we're going to continue to do that. those are the things that the romney campaign doesn't want to talk about. they had an advisor brag that they're not going to be dictated by fact checkers. they don't care about facts. they don't care about truth. we'll have an honest conversation with the american people are about sharp contrasts in this election. jon: kirsten, both sides seems to have stretched the truth in some of these super

pac ads, don't you think. >> well, i think it is really funny melanie would bring up fact checkers because the campaign as well as their super pac, priorities usa, obviously endorsed by the president, he sent his senior advisors and campaign manager out on the trail to fund raise for them, they have just run despicable ads fact checked for taking mitt romney out of context. they have said that mitt romney, while at bain somehow was responsible for the death of a woman for not having health insurance which is just despicable but that is the kind of rhetoric we're seeing out of this president who obviously we all remember so well from 2008 as being for the hope and change sentiment that i think a lot of people now realize they're not going to get from president obama. jon: melanie, what about that -- >> joge if i can respond. the truth is that, if

kirsten is going to, if she is going to assign responsibility for super pac ad to president obama, then she has got to be willing to do the same for all of the republican-led super pacs that have run despicable ads that are not based in fact and not based in truth. everyone agrees that the president does not, everyone knows the president does not control, nor does he approve super pac ads run for democratic purposes. jon: the president was also given the opportunity to, opportunity to disavow -- >> we're going to have a sharp debate in this election. we're going to show those contrasts. we're going to contrast between mitt romney, who is written off 47% of americans as victims and said that they want to be dependent on government. people like seniors, who have worked their entire life and paid into medicare and social security. students, veterans, he is written off half of america.

we're going to talk about that. jon: all right. >> that is well within bounds. jon: kirsten i will give you opportunity to respond to that. my point was that the president was given an opportunity to disavow those ads and didn't do so, specifically the cancer ad. kirsten. >> yeah. i would agree. he was given plenty of opportunity to disavow those ad. he did not. the super pacs are going to, have, they have obviously had plenty of opportunity to run ads in this campaign. with six weeks left what i'm focused on here at rnc and i know what mitt romney is focused on, is president obama. the ad we're actually running today that mitt romney's campaign is running on china and the fact that the president has not china -- >> china where mitt romney --. jon: melanie, melanie, please don't. melanie russell. kirsten, thank you both.

patti ann: iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad in new york this week for the u.n. general assembly says iran is prepared to defend itself and its nuclear program for a possible strike by israel. peter johnson, jr. joins us next to talk about that and more

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patti ann: "happening now", heightened tensions across the middle east in focus as the u.n. general assembly begins in new york. iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad saying he doesn't take the threat of an attack from israel seriously but he is vowing to defend his country and its nuclear program if a strike happens. meanwhile egyptian president mohammed morsi delivers a message to the white house telling the u.s., change your policies on the middle east or risk fueling anti-american hatred across the muslim world. well, joining us now to talk about these topic is peter johnson, jr., fox news legal analyst. >> good morning. patti ann: let's talk about

ahmadinejad. in the past when he addressed the u.n. some delegates walked out. what do you expect? >> they should walk out. this is a disgusting vial, condemnable human being. anti-semite. anti-american. worst civil rights record on the glob. but what we're seeing with mr. morsi and mr. ahmadinejad is an absolute total, total, attack on the obama foreign policy. mr. morsi comments said listen, united states, get with the program. respect our values. respect our culture. you're not doing it. we'll set the terms of this relationship. ahmadinejad is saying listen, your sanctions didn't work. we consider you weak. not only will we retaliate against israel, we will retaliate against american bases in europe and in the middle east. he has said that. so, the arab spring, the 2009 speech about a new beginning turns out to unfortunately to be a horrible joke and today, and tomorrow, the president has

an opportunity to reset the debate at the united nations when he talks to the general assembly. he will not, patti ann, be meeting with one world leader. he met with eight last year. in 1996, president clinton running for re-election met with world leaders. president bush in 2004. but the president is going to "the view" instead. patti ann: netanyahu, israeli prime minister wanted to meet with him, he said he couldn't because he had a campaign stop scheduled for that day. >> absolutely incredible. a lot of americans are looking for whether they're democrats, republicans or independents, a new obama doctrine because the first one hasn't work at all where we say, listen, with we respect sharia law in your countries you respect the first amendment in our country. we respect the right of a palestinian state to be created at some point. you respect the right of the state of israel to exist. so it should not be about

mideast demands. there need to be american demands put out on the table at this point as well. unfortunately, what's been called the policy of appeasement, of apology, of saying, well we really do understand you, we're part of you, we'll defend your values. that hasn't worked. we've seen the eruption on the arab street and destruction ever the president in effigy at rallies throughout the mid-east. patti ann: peter johnson, jr., thank you very much. >> good to see you. jon: the best way to see some of the most beautiful places in america, visit our national parks. now some major changes are underway at some of the country's most popular sites like yosemite. why the government could be getting out of the park business and what it would mean to visitors. 12 long time buddies on their bikes right now taking a grueling cross-country trip. they're raising money for their fallen comrades and to help their families. we'll tell but the warrior ride next. our claudia cowan was in

california where the ride kicked off on saturday. >> you're already to go. you have the police escort leading the way and ready to go to start your ride across america? gentlemen, good luck. we'll meet you in new york a week from tomorrow at the 9/11 memorial at ground zero. and there they go. bob... oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan,

in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners.

jon: right now at rolling tribute across the country to fallen veterans and their families. 12 former marines embarking on a 3200 mile bike ride from california all the way to new york city. they're about two days into this trip. it is called the warrior ride. the group is raising money for a couple of organizations that support servicemembers and their families including giving scholarships to children of deceased war heroes.

on the phone a former u.s. marine captain the organizer of the warrior ride. a guy who has a couple of purple hearts himself. david, how are you doing two days into this thing? >> we're doing pretty well, sir. we're 100 miles outside of flagstaff, arizona, now, heading towards our end point which will be outside of durango, colorado. everybody is pretty motivated and doing well. jon: eight days to do 3200 miles, do i have that right? >> you do. you do. we've got 12 riders and, four support crew, including one of our medics that we actually served in fallujah with, doc worley, who has been an unbelievable guy. so we've got a great team and we're breaking down the miles and getting it done together. jon: you started this thing a few years ago, i know riding from the iwo jima memorial in virginia all the way to ground zero in new york city. that is a couple of hundred miles. what made you decide to take this thing across-country?

>> you know the challenge of it, really. we've been talking about just stepping it up and seeing if we could do it and, you know, i served with a lot of these guys with me here today. it is great to be able to do this together and, be able to honor our bud i dids that never came home and try to help take care of their families that are still here. jon: i was honored last year to ride with you the last 20 miles or so of your trip all the way, across the george washington bridge to ground zero but i know there is awful lot of emotion that you guys are up and able-bodied and still able to do something like this when you have lost so many of your friend and your buddies. >> absolutely. there are certainly a huge emotional piece to this. we're thinking about, you know, we were going to climb yesterday from sedona up into, up into flagstaff which was about just over 3,000 feet in elevation and it was, 11:00 at night. we were changing guys out

and had a support vehicle right behind them and, you know, a lot went through my mind thinking about my buddies and their families. like ray mendoza, matt lynch, travis manyon. it is certainly an emotional ride. >> we just had the web sites up on the screen. i know you're hoping to raise a million bucks for the families left behind by fallen marines and servicemembers. travis man john.com, amounted mcle fdot original. we'll follow your progress through the week. >> thank you, jon. patti ann: with early voting already underway in several key states, governor mitt romney and his running mate are fanning out to win over the all-important down the decided voters. he talked about his campaign on "60 minutes." bret baier has a closer look what the governor has to say. that is at the top of the

hour. we're watching wildfires raging across the west from washington to southern california. william la jeunesse will have a live report on the battle for firefighters with hundreds of homes directly in the path of the

patti ann: the week before the first big debate the presidential campaign heats up. jon: both candidates with very packed schedules, governor romney on a high stakes tour of swing states while the president squeeze ez in an interview with the ladies from the view and a fund-raiser in new york. we'll talk with a heartbroken young man after the government shut down a popular haunted house he built to try to raise money for charity. he joins us with his story coming up. patti ann: governor romney kicking his campaign into high gear high lating his economic vision for america's future.

welcome to our second hour of "happening now." i'm patti ann brown in today for jenna lee? i'm jon scott. governor romney and his running nature paul ryan are focusing hard this week on the swing states. they are picking up the pace holding more events on the campaign trail. the governor saying last night on 60 minutes his campaign is on track to win. >> it doesn't need a turn around. we have a campaign which is tied with an incumbent president of the united states. >> can you win this thing? >> i'm going to win this thing. jon: bret baier is anchor of special report. some would say given the readings in the polls these days the governor is expressing a little too much optimism. what are the trends, b r-rb bret? >> you look at polls and look as what's happened on the campaign trail and what analysts have said on both sides and you would wonder why governor romney is even still in this race, because you listen to what people are saying about this race, and you would think it would be over,

but you look at where it actually is, and he trails in battleground states by a few points, on average, and in national polls he's tied, essentially. a lot of those polls, republicans have a problem with because they believe they are weighted towards a democratic turn out model for 08 which was a heavy democratic turn out and they believe the governor is still there. democrats even, some of them privately will tell you they are surprised that governor romney for all the mistakes as a candidate he's made, including the infamous 47% tape that got so much coverage, and attention, he is still right there. and we haven't even made it to the first debate. so, you've heard the governor on 60 minutes taking -- falling on his sword if you will for that tape, and it wasn't his campaign, but clearly the campaign is stepping up the

volume of the campaign events ahead of the next 43 days. jon: the portion of the obama interview, the president obama that was not on 60 minutes but did run on the internet in sort of an extra portion, he talks about the tone of his campaign ads. now the obama campaign as you know decided early that mitt romney was going to be the eventual republican nominee. while the republicans were attacking each other they started attacking governor romney and trying to frame him as unacceptable to occupy the oval office. here is what the president has had to say about some of his ads on that 60 minutes extra interview. >> do we see sometimes us going overboard in our campaign, there are mistakes that are made, areas where there is no doubt that somebody could dispute how we are presenting things, you know, that happens in politics. jon: that happens in politics. it's occur wrus to me curious

to me, because i've rarely if ever heard the president himself admit he made a mistake. >> sure he's talking about his campaign ads and going over-the-top. it was interesting that that clip did not make the 60 minutes air. listen, both campaigns will tell you that some ads are not perfect, and that this is a political season, but to hear the president address it directly was quite something. the other thing that is interesting about polls, jon, and you talk about them, this new george washington university battleground poll really is something, and it goes to the point that the democrats have been trying to hit on, and that is middle class voters. if you look at the inside of this poll 54% of the people they say across the country fall under this middle class voter segment, and of those they usually split pretty evenly

between republicans and democrats. in this particular poll mitt romney holds a 14 point advantage with republicans over president obama with middle class voters. and they also see a lot of trouble about where the economy is going. it depends on which poll you're looking at how you look about governor romney's chances going forward. jon: yeah, and on that point, "politico," the political website and magazine also has a poll out of middle class voters, and it's really interesting, if you look at the individuals, and i think -- the individual issues and i think we can put them on the screen, things like the economy, jobs, spending, taxes, in each of those categories governor romney wins with middle class voters with numbers that are outside the margin of error. the only one that is close is medicare, plus 2% for governor romney. and yet despite winning on all those issues when you look at

the bigger picture, which is which candidate is better at stand up for the middle class all of a sudden president obama comes in at 57% more than almost 20 points ahead of governor romney. there seems to be some kind of disconnect there. >> or there has been a really good job by the democrats and president obama's campaign at painting governor romney a certain way, and the candidate and his campaign have not fought back against that effectively as of yet. i know, we're coming up on this debate in denver, it's the first realtime, head-to-head that the two candidates will fight over domestic policy and the economy, and i think it's a big moment. we have a lot of time to go, it's important to note. its also important to note in history, you know, campaigns have turned things around with deficits greater than this. there are republicans who are

worried, clearly. we'll see how the romney campaign deals with those worries both in fundraising and in dealing with their message on the trail. jon: we know you'll be watching it on special report this evening and ever every weekday. bret baier runs every night. the special spapb special panel is bill kristol. juan williams and charles krauthammer. patti ann: insurgent attacks are on the deline dropping by 9% last month, this after a surge in attacks last summer. surge attacks are down 5% for the year so far. secretary of state hillary clinton is set to mead with ham eud car hamid karzai to discuss a wide range of issues and the war. iranian president ahmadinejad making headlines at the u.n.

general assembly today delivering a wide-ranging speech on the rule of law blasting the security council, israel and the u.s. attorney general eric holder representing the u.s. at the meeting and david lee miller is live right now outside the united nations here in new york city with the latest for us. hi, david. >> that's right. just a short time ago ahmadinejad finished his remarks on the rule of law held in the u.n. general assembly. he used the opportunity to attack iran's critics, and he specifically did not in anyway mention any country by name. earlier, though did mention the fact that israel, quote had no raotsz in th roots in the middle east. he did lash out at the u.n. security council for remaining silent with regard to what he identified as nuclear states with a regime. he meant israel by that.

>> discriminatory privilege of the veto rights enjoyed by some members of the security council lacks legitimacy and that is why the security council has failed to establish justice and insure sustain pweults an van susteren stain abilities and security in the world. >> israel walked out and did not listen to ahmadinejad's remarks. he aeu dressed the palestinian conflict, while not explicitly calling for israel's destruction he used diplomatic speak to denounce israel's existence. >> we must unanimously hold occupiers accountable and make efforts to return occupied territories to their rightful

owners. >> reporter: also on the agenda at the united nations today, syria, the united nation's enjoy and the enjoy of the arab league is expected to hold a behind the scenes briefing before the security council. he recently made with bashar al-assad. many here talking about syria, it will be a topic of conversation through the week, patti ann, but many here expect that little or nothing is going to be accomplished resolving a conflict that so far has claimed in excess of 30,000 lives. patti ann: david lee miller live at the u.n. here in new york city. thank you. jon: details from a personal journal that belongs to america's murdered ambassador to libya revealed by a major news organization against the wishes of his family. is it a scoop or a scandal? our news watch panel weighs in on this growing controversy. patti ann: also, wildfires destroying homes, burning a path across thousands of acres out

west. we have a live report straight ahead. >> the power lines have been going down in the area, and so the phone connections are going to be questionable in the first place. if you're fortunate enough to see the fire coming and you think you should get out of the way, take that opportunity and use it. 4g lte has the fastest speeds.

so let's talk about coverage. based on this chart, who would you choose ? wow. you guys take a minute. zon, hands down. i'm going to show you guys another chart. pretty obvious. i don't think color matters. pretty obvious. what'sretty obvious about it ? that verizon has the coverage. verizon. verizon. we're going to go to another chart. it doesn't really matter how you present it. it doesn't matter how you present it. verizon. more 4g lte coverage than all other networks combined. 8% every 10 years.age 40, we can start losing muscle --

jon: a quick check of the business headlines making news. banks are hiking atm fees to record levels. they are also cutting back on these free checking accounts. the financial research firm bank rates.com says the fees are up for the 8th straight year as banks try to make up for lost revenue. oil prices are dropping now below $92 a barrel, analysts say the decline reflects slower global economic growth and lower demand for oil. but don't tell apple the economy is in trouble, the company sold more than 5 million iphone 5's since they went on sale friday. apple says orders for the phone

exceeded the initial fly i initial supply in stores. patti ann: fire crews out west have their hands full in several states. in southern california a pair of wildfires forcing people to get away as pass fast a as fast as they can. four homes are almost destroyed and 300 others are in danger. in central washington state fire crews are battling two major fires raging for weeks. william la jeunesse is live right now in l.a. for us. >> reporter: both southern california fires are relatively small, and not in densely populated areas, but to those in rural san diego and riverside counties a fire is a fire and fast or slow in the current conditions any fire is dangerous. let's go down near the u.s.-mexican border about an hour east of san diego, a fire that began around noon yesterday has destroyed 20 homes threatening 80 more. they are using the golden egg

corn casino as a staging and evacuation area. during this time of year illegal immigrants use and camp overnight near the known smuggling rights in rural east san diego county and use fires to stay warm at night. sunday afternoon in riverside county 80 miles southeast of los angeles that has destroyed four homes and threatening 200 more. murrieta high school is the evacuation center there. the good news is temperatures today through wednesday are going down before rising back into the high 90s by friday. better weather also helped firefighters in washington state over the weekend. in the cascade mountains fire burned some four service buildings and about 2,000 acres, 2,000 residents, however, remained evacuated there. firefighters fear a second fire about a hundred miles south will merge making a huge blaze, larger than the city of seattle,

so far they have -- the firefighters that is have steered these flames away from communities while they wait for rain or snow, none of that in sight. patti ann, down here in southern california we are in the middle of wildfire season, the brush is very dry. the winds can kick up at any time. firefighters treat any fire no matter how small with urgency, back to you. patti ann: william la jeunesse live in los angeles thank you. jon: the candidates are in wisconsin looking for votes -- they are not actually there at the moment but in a heated battle for the key swing state, president obama pulling ahead in the polls. one of governor romney's biggest supporters is sounding pretty optimistic on the campaign trail. >> do you know what i think? i think we can carry wisconsin. [cheers and applause] of hardest-working, smoothest-riding.lass it's got the most torque,

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jon: right now closing arguments underway are on under on south carolina's new voter id law. julie is in the newsroom with more on that. >> reporter: a federal panel will soon decide whether the voter i.d. law in south carolina will stay or go. last december the justice department refused to allow the state to require photo i.d.'s saying it would reverse the voting gains of the state's minorities. the state argues its new law, which requires people to prove their identity at the polls won't reduce turn out of african-americans, hispanics and other minorities. here is south carolina governor nikki haley defending the law last april. >> i don't want dead people voting in the state of south carolina. >> the only way to win elections is to suppress votes all together. that is unamerican and undemocratic. >> you're talking to a minority female governor of the state-of-the-state of south carolina. there is nothing mourn i want

than to have people who can vote, to vote. patti ann: they say it puts heavy burdens on minorities that don't have the identification. the final decision will be up to a judge. tougher state voter registration and identify cause laws could factor into this year's election as voters dived along racial lines behind president obama or mitt romney in the presidential contest. jon: thank you, julie. patti ann: president obama hitting the campaign trail over the weekend in milwaukee visiting the state for the first time since wisconsin paul ryan joined the republican ticket. first lady michelle obama will be in the state next week, her second visit in four weeks. governor mitt romney met with his supporters in wisconsin on two occasions over the summer. let's take a closer look at some key facts. wisconsin holds teny electorial votes.

the unemployment rate is 7.3% which is below the national average of 8.1%. right now the average price for unleaded gasoline is 3.90 a dollars. the latest poll shows president obama holding a lead over mitt romney in wisconsin. it's 53.5 to 51.7. joining us now is mr. gilbert. we showed the latest poll, obama up nearly # points. with the economy still struggling, a u.s. ambassador murdered and attack on our consulate some republicans say they are surprised by these numbers. why are the battleground states tilting left. >> eight points is probably generous. the movement has been in obama's direction. the race in wisconsin had tight end up after paul ryan was selected. you've seen across the country after the democratic convention the democrats getting a bounce. one of the ominous things in

wisconsin for governor romney is, you know, he does have -- he doesn't have the greatest image in the state, there is a perception in the polling that his policies tilt toward upper income voters. he's got to counter that. the republicans have won big elections in the last two years, they have a great ground game and paul ryan on the ticket. they have assets to work but they've got to find a way to counter the obama message against romney. patti ann: wisconsin has voted democrat in the last six -- six of the last eight presidential elections. republicans do see some opportunities there. governor scott walker a republican survived that recall attempt, does that signify a shift in thinking? >> well, i would think we'll find out in november. there were some parts of wisconsin that president obama carried by double digits in 2008 that scott walker carried by 20 or 30 points in 2012. the big -- the million dollar question is whether that was a shift in the state politically

or whether it was just a rejection of the recall itself, which was very controversial. outside of milwaukee the democratic base in milwaukee and madison, in the republican base in the republican suburbs, there are real swing areas, it's very competitive and those voters are going to really decide this race. patti ann: you mentioned romney's running mate congressman paul ryan of course being from wisconsin. how much of a boost, is there more there for the congressman to help republicans? >> well, he got a bounce already. i think people -- there is a home-state factor. i sat down with congressman ryan on his campaign plane a couple of days ago and talked to him about this and i asked him if he thought he was worth a few points to the ticket in wisconsin. he said he thought he was. he said he thought there was a home state factor. ream root for the home team. i think most democrats would concede it. the point is is it a one or two point margin or something better

than that? it may have to be something better than that if current polling trends continue. patti ann: how important is wisconsin to this election in. >> it's big. one reason -- the way i think about it is it's probably the republican's best shot as turning a state that's been consistently blue. i mean when you look at the problems mitt romney is having in a place like ohio, they need to expand the map, they need to move into blue territory and pennsylvania and michigan, the other candidates are not looking too good right now. in wisconsin i think they've got more of a purchase on that state given what we've talked about, the recent political history. without wisconsin it's one of these running the table scenarios where they just have to win the great preponderance of contestants. wisconsin sort of gives them more. patti ann: to victory. patti ann: we will she what happens. greg gilbert. the reporter for the washington seven ta knell. thank you for joining us.

jon: a major challenge to wisconsin's new union law is happening now in chicago. judges on the 7th circuit court of appeal hearing arguments today from several unions challenging the constitutionality of governor scott walker's law restricting collective bargaining by public employs he's. this after a lower court overturned key sections of that law back in march. patti ann: a new network under fire over journal is particular ethics. was it right to reveal the contents of a personal journal belonging to the u.s. am bass der murdered in libya in time is running out to win over undecided voters in florida. and it was supposed to scare up donations for a childrens' charity. a spooky house in ohio, we will hear from a teenager and about his operation and why the town is shutting him down.

patti ann: the latest polls show a razor thin margin in florida meaning undecided voters could hold the key to victory in the sunshine state. while the economy is a top concern for most voters some other issues are likely to help those undecided voters help up their minds.

steve harrigan is live right now in hollywood, florida. >> reporter: we've been talking to undecided voters in florida here all week. a number of them say that they voted ford president obama four years ago but this time around some of that enthusiasm seems to have been gone. >> i just want to see who has the better plan for america. >> reporter: you haven't seen that yet in all these ads, all this campaigning? >> they just negative ads. everybody run negativity about each other. once somebody comes out with a for sure plan about america then i will vote. >> reporter: the typical undecided florida voter is a young female like michelle. >> what is holding you back from making that move to obama? why are you hesitating? >> i still feel he hasn't done everything he said he was going to do prior to election. >> reporter: how about romney, what makes you hold become on him? >> i just feel he's more for the upper class people. the rich. >> reporter: and when do you think you're going to decide? >> the day before election day.

>> reporter: brian walsh is hoping for a third option. >> abou option. what is it about the third party that would make it different from the republicans or the democrats. >> fair electionses which are not just about the big money, which obviously democrats and republicans are. it's all about the money, thousands of dollars, for example, in a sa*eubg tkeurpbgs i meastake dinners, i meansteak dinner, it's all about the money. >> reporter: they have been following the race closely. they know a lot about each candidate. the problem is they don't seem to like either candidate at all. patti ann: thank you. jon: cnn sparks an unroar over its coverage of the deadly violence in libya. the violence left four americans dead including our ambassador christopher stevens. cnn released certain information

from his personal diary which one of his staffers found in the wreckage against his family wishess. a cnn executive defends the decision saying quote cnn negotiated, had a conversation with the family, respected the obligation to keep out personal details and only report what it was obligated and news worthy to report. the fact that the governmen government wants to stand as the oerbmobile arbiter on this frankly offends me. >> jim pinkerton joins us and alan colmes the host of the alan colmes show and a familiar face on the fox news channel. this is a tragic situation all the way around. apparently in the aftermath of the attack on our embassy, alan, a cnn staffer finds this book, opens it up, it turns out to be the musings of the diplomat, christopher stevens. they had it, read it and even though the family did not want

some of this information put out on air about his concerns over his personal security and so forth, they went ahead and did it. what do you think of that? >> what troubles my is that apparently after many, many requests in a telephone conversation the family said, please let us look at this before we give you the go ahead, and whether or not it's a journalistic issue that there was real news there that they were obligated as journalists to report, once they said to the family, okay, we will sit on this until such time as you see it, you vet it and then get back to us and then cnn apparently breached that a dream, that is what i find troubling about it. if there was not that agreement i would understand that cnn would say, we see these things as valuable news here, we can double-check it, we can verify it, but once they made the agreement with the family that they would not go public about either the existence of the diary or what is in it until such time as the family got back of them, if they breached that agreement as was reported that i

find troubling. jon: for a while they seemed to try to have it both ways. they were bringing stories on air about what was in the diary without saying that they had the diary saying they had sources familiar with the ambassador's thinking. does that make it any better? >> look, i'm never in favor of breaking one's word. to the extent that cnn lied to the stevens family that certainly is horrible. however the larger issue of finding a diary of an important historical event on the scene four days later, which doesn't make the american government look too good in terms of cleaning up the scene as it were, but still that aside, look, all -- every scoop and exclusive and leak -- scoop and leak in history has been because somebody else didn't want. when fox news broke the story about george w. bush's dui a few days before the election i'm sure the family wasn't happy about that. fox did it anyway. and to its credit.

that's what you do with news. journalism is the first draft of history. when something big happens and you have and i incite into it you run witness. if it hurts people's feelings that's unfortunate. but that's what makes journals necessary. jon: some of what he wrote is he apparently was concerned about his own personal security complaining that he wasn't getting enough backing from the state department and concerned about al-qaida. those are big national issues. other diplomats may be concerned about their security as well. do those issues outweigh his family's request for privacy? >> yes with the caveat that they should never have promised to the family that they would sit on it and not go public until the family gave an answer. that's an agreement they should never have made. once they made that agreement, at least ethically it would seem they had an obligation to honor the agreement. had they not made that agreement with the family then they should have gone forward with whatever news they felt and that they could verify dame out of th

came out of the diary. jon: a writer from the boston globe. mark plasessi wrote a piece which was titled "cnn values a scoop more than simple human decency" do you disagree with that? >> no. i do agree with that. these my point, though. journalism has a sort of unique, sort of and nag is in particular speak truth to power function that the founding fathers wrote into the first amendment, and as oliver wendell homes says free speech is not for the speech you like it's for the speech you hate. it's much to be said about the ethics of this and morality of this. i won't disagree with the boston tkpwhraoe globe reporter. if the media aired just what sources wanted it would be public relations not journalism. >> cnn should never have breached -- this agreement should never have happened. cnn should have said we feel

this is news worthy we are very sorry, we understand your feelings and the sensitivity of the issue but we feel there is true news here that we must report as journalists. that's what they they did. they wanted to get the family to approve and told the family they would not go forward with it. jon: the state department has been blasting cnn over this. there are those who say the government dropped the ball here, the government didn't do enough to protect our own ambassador and really what they are trying to do is reflect the fact that the state department and the obama administration didn't have enough security on september 11th in a very trouble so many part of the world. >> i think that's clearly part of the pattern. it's been 13 days since the tragic events on september 11th 2012 and i think the obama administration was very, very happy with the narrative, if you will that the death of the ambassador was the cause of just some riot, caused by the mohammed video and now it's more and more obvious even to the point where even the white house is admitting it that it was a terrorist hit, another

9/11 on 9/11. and you would think that the obama administration and the state department would have been better prepared on that day of all days for an attack. obviously ambassador stevens was concerned about his own safety an was obviously correct to feel that way. what the obama administration has tried to do and with some success is to smudge up the issue and have it be vague and how all the embassies and the ambassador were torched and skilled. >> you can't blame any administration for every act of terror that takes place any place in the world on the watch of that particular administration. if that were the case you'd have to blame bush for 9/11 and i don't think anybody wants to do that. >> you weren't paying attention to the 9/11 hearings in 2004. that's all they did was years was abuse the bush administration of not being ready for 9-11-01. >> you don't support blaming bush for that, why would you support blaming the obama

administration now. >> i think the fact that bush got a memo saying osama bin laden is planning to attack the u.s. is inculpating to the bush administration. >> the only way you learn from any disaster, whether it's 9/11 or perfectly harbor or the u.s.s. main back in 1988 is by investigating and unfolding a fullest ka sraeugs of the facts and letting the chips fall where they may. >> you cannot blame an administration for any act of tere roar that takes place around the world under any administration. i don't think that is a fair assessment or blame on whoever happens to be in office. >> if in fact the ambassador had zero guards, and the navy seals were on the scene helping out. that is pretty damming. >> two navy seals is not zero. jon: they weren't part of his personal security detail, that's been the word from the state department. alan colmes, jim pinkerton, good discussion. >> thank you,. >> thank you. patti ann: a fox news weather alert now miriam getting

stronger, the storm now a category 3 hurricane in the pacific. forecasters tracking miriam says its packing winds up to 120 miles per hour. right now it's turning off the pacific coast of mexico. no coastal watches or warnings in effect yet but larger waves are expected to hit shore in the next couple of days. we'll bring you moir on this story as it develops. jon: well the check is no longer in the mail for parks across the country. what tough economic times could mean for the great outdoors and some of america's most spectacular parks. that's next. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day

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anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. jon: , major nidal hasan the suspect in the fort hood massacre has been hospitalized. fort hood is not able to give out any information as to why he has been hospitalized due to the patient privacy rights. he as you might known has grown a beard. this is his official arm my

photo. he's grown a beard and that has become something of a sticking point in court. a judge recently ruled that he be forced to shave it. he says that would violate his muslim religious beliefs. so they've been arguing over that. the judge said that he can be forced to shave it and now major nadal hasan, the man accused of shooting and killing 13 people, hurting more than two dozen others is in the hospital. he is said to be in good condition, to be released within 48 hours, and the legal process which has been stretching on now for almost three years in that case can move forward. we'll keep you updated. patti ann: a new sign of the tough economic times. state parks are used to getting support from the taxpayers, but budget cutbacks are changing all of that. now the parks are acting more like businesses, they have to try to attract visitors. and dan springer is live in seattle with this story for us. hi, dan. >> reporter: hi, patti ann to close a $3 billion budget deficit washington state's governor has proposed yanking

all funding from state parks. it would be the first state park system to go completely off the public doll. there are 117 parks in washington with some of the best scenery anywhere in the country. life-long bureau krats have to make them self sustaining. they are streamlining operations, charging for day use. charging more for the peak season and less for the off season. in short they are thinking like the private sector. >> we just developed a new partnership division, we just started marketing. we have to develop new skill sets that we've never had to develop before. we were never in the competition business. >> reporter: as they compete for that leisure spending opponents are afraid the natural beauty will be turned into theme parks, less access the least profitable spots and a lot fewer rainers. other states like california have private tied the operation of some of their parks and several parks are being run by private companies and the company generally sees very

little change. think might see a few more things to buy. the biggest difference seems to be the labor cost. state workers are expensive. salaries and benefits account for 85% of the state park's advertising budgets where as private companies it's as low as 30 to 40%. some even argue privatization will actually improve the parks. >> the state government is pretty bad at advertising the experience you can have in public parks. a private company would have much more incentive to broaden their appeal to a wider pick in order to encourage people to come. >> reporter: not surprising the park's directer in washington state doesn't think it can be done going off the public dole. he's having the legislature to restore $18 million to his budget. patti ann: dan springer live in seattle, thank you. jon: a haunted house with its own horror story you might way and it's not even halloween yet. town officials shutting down this scary place, but critics are shoutin shouting, boo.

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patti ann: wall it the nightmare before halloween. an ohio township shutting down a popular haunted house created by a teenager every year to raise money for charity. this is an update to a story we first brought you this time last year. joining us now is the ohio teen the creator of scream acres court. thank you for joining us ryan. >> thanks for having me. >> tell us about the house, the support and how popular heights been over the years. >> it's been around for nine years now. we've been raising money for the make-a-wish foundation. this is our second year doing that since we got so big last year, and unfortunately we got so big that they shut it down this year. patti ann: we want to put up on

the screen the comments from the town administrator who tax also spoke with on the phone this morning, kevin salarick. he says the houpbte haunted house is a safety hazard. it does not have safety exits, an alarm system. an extension cord could short out or hurt somebody. our own fire marshal said he would never let their kids in there what about the safety issues? >> there were things they addressed to us. we said we could fix it, we could try to work with them. they said it was too much, too soon they just wouldn't allow it. patti ann: you did say that you would try to address some of the safety issues, and you do have a month before halloween to get that done, but they said no, forget it. >> definitely, yep. patti ann: they also said there is an overcrowding danger, that the house is less than 800 square feet and that as many as

a thousand people came through last year, and that would not only put a strain on the building, it also puts a strain on the parking on this residential road. what could you really do about that issue? >> actually we had additional parking at a local business called western bowl and they have a huge parking lot. they are actually within walking distance of the haunted house. we had plans for that, actually. patti ann: wow, this business offered to allow people to park in their lot for this charity. >> yeah. patti ann: interesting. he also said you don't have a building permit. you need a permit for that type of structure and it's against zoning code to charge people even for a charity in an area zoned residential. what do you say to that? >> yeah, i mean we talked to him about that, and we said well what if we make it free and if they want to give a donation they can give a donation. everything we suggested it was just no, you guys can't do that, you know, so we had to shut it down this year.

patti ann: what kind reaction are you getting from people going to this for nine years in. >> people are really upset. it's become a local favorite. people come out every year. we've had people from all the way like pittsburgh traveling states to come see it, it's been craze ao*efplt unfortunately this year we had to shut it down. we are moving a lot of stuff to another location and doing something smaller this year. patti ann: so you are going to try to do something else and still raising money for make-a-wish. >> yeah, a local business call sky wags is a laser tag arena is allowing us to come decorate their place and you can play laser tag and still raise money for the charity. patti ann: i hope things workout in your new location and best of luck. maybe you can workout these issues for next halloween. we'll see what happens. thank you very much. >> thank you. jon: stew sisters sharing a truly remarkable experience delivering their little bud else of joy just hours apart, the amazing details to share with you next. you've heard me talk

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jon: all right, here is something you usually don't see every day. amy bachs and her sister, heather adams, delivering little babies on the same day just four hours apart. >> we were in labor at the same time, but she went first, obviously. we were due last sunday, and neither of us had our babies on our due dates, so we both came in yesterday. >> it's more amazing because i want to match 'em. they can have matching clothes. >> well, i won't forget this one. i'll probably never deliver two family members on the same day, so like i said, it's really been fun to be a part of it. jon: the sisters conceived on the same day and surprised each other with the news and said they enjoyed sharing their pregnancies along the way. and i guess, you know, they'll get to share the baby clothes and everything else. >> yeah, sure. jon: good for them. that's great news. thank you for joining